What's in a Kiss
by AuraLily
Summary: DG doesn't understand the appeal of a kiss. Cain is determined to change her mind.


Disclaimer: I don't own them, but right about now I'm really wishing I did.

One more second trapped in that ballroom and Cain was going to shoot himself. The music was mind numbing, the company even more so, and he was fairly certain that the collar of his shirt was slowly strangling that life from him. Worst of all, it had been close to an hour since he'd last seen DG and the growing worry had him ready to snap.

As on of the evening's guests of honor, technically it wasn't the Tin Man's duty to guard the princess, but that hadn't stopped him from keeping a close watch on her. If it had seemed that his clothes were covering too much, then DG's weren't covering nearly enough and he hadn't been the only one to take notice of that fact. The other men in attendance had been circling the girl like hungry papay all night and, had one more decided to try his luck, Cain would have been forced to start picking them off one by one.

A disturbance in the crowd caught his attention, tearing Cain from the surprisingly pleasant image of using the stuffy, overly flashy aristocracy for target practice. The Viewer arrived at his side, oblivious to the hushed murmurs that followed in his wake, furred features twisted in concern.

"Az say Cain come now. DG upset." Raw paused for a moment, head cocked as though he were listening to a voice only he could hear. "DG very upset."

That was all Cain needed to hear. All thoughts of propriety gone in the face of DG's distress, he took off through the now captivated crowd. He ran full out, not stopping until he reached the private quarters of the royal family and the doors that led to DG's rooms.

"DG, please open the door. I can't do anything if you won't tell me what's wrong."

Azkadelia shot a grateful glance to the obviously worried man that had suddenly appeared at her side. As much as Az loved her little sister, the girl could be exhausting at times and the Tin Man seemed to be the only one who could get through to her when she was in one of her moods. "Thank you for coming so quickly, Mr. Cain. I don't know exactly what's happened, but DG's locked herself in her room and she refuses to open the door. She just keeps muttering and it sounds as though she's been throwing things."

Cain heaved a soul deep sigh, reaching past Az to pound his fist against the door. "You should go back to the ball, Princess, before people start to notice that everyone has gone. There's been enough of a scene already and I can handle things here." He knocked again, louder and longer this time until the door shook under the force of his blows. "You have until the count of three, DG, or I open the door myself."

The quiet click of a lock being released was her only response. Cain stepped into the room, locking the doors firmly behind him and surveying the scene before him. A pair of delicate blue heels, a hair brush, and an assortment of other feminine oddities lay at his feet and, judging by the scuff marks on the wall, they hadn't gotten there easily.

The princess, herself, looked as though she'd just stepped out of the center of a travel storm. Her once intricate updo was now mostly down, becoming more and more wild as she continued yanking out pins with a force that made Cain wince in sympathy. Her elegant gown was disheveled, one strap trailing over her shoulder and yards of sapphire silk bunched in her hands as she paced the floor, muttering under her breath.

"...worse than when I was a waitress! All night it's 'Princess' and 'Your Highness' but you get them on the dance floor and they're no better than a bunch of ass grabbing truckers. At least the truckers tried to be subtle. No respect at all. I bet these things don't happen to other princesses."

Cain's vision flashed red and a muscle began to twitch with the force it required to keep himself under control. From now on he wasn't letting the girl out of his sight. "Men were touching you?"

DG went on as though he'd never spoken, her voice growing louder and louder with every word. "But to actually kiss me! To jam his slimy, disgusting tongue into my mouth and act like I should be thrilled by it. Do you know what kind of balls that takes? When I said I needed air that's all I meant. Damn dresses."

The gun was out and in his hand, hammer cocked and ready before the thought had fully formed. "Someone forced themself on you? Just give me a name, princess, and I'll make sure he never bothers you again."

DG spun on her heel, coming to a stop just inches from where he stood. Blue eyes sparking with anger, she addressed Cain for the first time. "I never really got it, you know. What the big deal was about kissing. Really, if you look at it objectively the whole thing is kind of disgusting."

Cain felt like he had more synapses misfiring at the moment than Glitch at his worst. He and the princess seemed to be having two different conversations, but he could really only grasp one thing. "Was tonight the first time you've been kissed, DG?"

If looks could kill, the withering glare she gave him would have dropped the Tin Man at her feet. "I'm a virgin, Cain, not an idiot. I've done as much kissing as anyone else my age. I've just never seen what was so great about it."

DG resumed her pacing, too agitated to remain still for long. "When all my friends were going on about how they were just going to die if they couldn't get their lips on some guy, I was just as happy to forget the whole thing. What happened tonight just confirms what I always thought. Besides, I can only think of one guy I've ever really wanted to kiss and since I doubt you'd be willing..."

DG froze in place, rant paused midstream by the hand she clapped over her mouth. Deep flush rising to stain her porcelain skin, she stared at Cain, wide eyed and speechless until suddenly the dam burst. "Oh God, Cain, I don't know what's wrong with me tonight. I don't know why I keep saying these things. Did I actually just tell you that I want to kiss you? That I'm still a virgin? I might as well just say I'm having cramps, too, and finish myself off."

She was off and running again, rambling on and on in a desperate attempt to pull herself out of the hole she had dug. It was beginning to look like she could carry on for quite awhile, so Cain did the only thing he could think of to cut her off.

He swept in midsentence and kissed her.

Cain knew to be gentle with her, to be slow and easy. While DG might be inexperienced, he certainly wasn't and the last thing he wanted was to scare his princess after her earlier trials. It was soft and insubstantial, the barest brush of skin against skin as their breath heated and mingled in the space between. He wanted her to get used to him, to the feel of him being so close and intending to get closer.

He could feel her starting to tremble and he drew DG into him, one strong arm pulling her into the protective warmth of hin body. A rough, calloused hand cradled her cheek, thumb tracing soothing circle as he deepened the kiss. Cain molded their lips together, pressing and rubbing in a reminder of the sweet innocence of childhood kisses. He could feel the tension draining from her, one pale, slender hand moving to the back of his neck to tentatively play with the short hair that she found there.

Sensing her readiness, her need for more, Cain lightly teased the seam of her lips with the tip of his tongue. Asking entrance rather than demanding, allowing DG to control how far and how fast they progressed. She parted under his gentle pressure and he dipped in, exploring the lush inner surfaces of her lips, glancing over the slick enamel of her teeth. Coaxing her to tease and taunt him in return.

A soft groan broke in the back of DG's throat and, finally, he took her mouth in the way that he'd been thinking about, fantasizing about for weeks now. He plunged into her, explored every heated, intimate corner of her mouth, reveled in the taste of wine and spice and a purity that could only be DG, herself, as it overwhelmed his senses. He drew her breath into himself, replaced her's with his own until he couldn't be sure where one began and the other ended.

DG was kissing him back, now, clinging to the dark lapels of his hated suit as she moved against him, soft whimpering cries ringing in his ears and heating his blood. Cain held her tighter, let her feel that she wasn't alone. That he was just as lost as she was. He slid his hand down her throat until it came to rest on her chest. The feel of her heart fluttering like a trapped bird against his palm as he traced gentle fingers over the soft outer slope of her delicate curves made the Tin Man feel the heart he thought he'd lost more keenly than ever before.

Slowly, he began easing back, catching her lower lip between his teeth before soothing the minor hurt with soft, pecking kisses. They were both gasping for breath, struggling to take in the heated air that surrounded them.

In Cain's opinion, DG had never looked more beautiful, her eyes blown with passion and her lips swollen by the pressure of his own. It seemed that there should be some guilt, some sense that it was too soon for him to move on, but there was nothing. Cain knew that he would always love Adora but , when he looked at DG he saw the woman he was already half in love with. He saw someone that made him want to live again. When he looked at DG, Cain saw the future.

He pressed his forehead to hers, smiling down at the lovely young woman still too stunned to speak.

"That, DG, is exactly what's so great about kissing."


End file.
